Crunchy Chocolate Granola (9 Ingredients)

This homemade chocolate crunch granola is crisp, deeply chocolatey, and packed with crunchy clusters. Made with old-fashioned oats, cocoa powder, honey, coconut oil, and chocolate chips, it’s an easy breakfast or snack that tastes much more indulgent than it actually is. Add nuts, dried fruit, or your favorite mix-ins to make it your own.

I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since updated it with new photos and additional success tips, plus a few small changes to improve the flavor and texture. The updated version uses more oats and a little less cocoa powder for a crunchier granola with a more balanced chocolate flavor.

If you love granola with lots of crunchy texture, this is the recipe for you. Especially if you happen to agree with me that chocolate is perfectly acceptable for breakfast. Looking at you, triple chocolate scones!

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Granola

• Crunchy clusters. The sweet chocolate coating helps bind the oats together into wonderfully crisp clusters as they bake and cool.
• Deep chocolate flavor. Unsweetened cocoa powder provides the chocolate base, while chocolate chips melt into the warm granola for even more chocolate flavor.
• Easy to make. You only need a few basic ingredients and one bowl for mixing the oats and chocolate mixture together. Kids love to help with this one!
• Perfectly customizable. Add nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut, or whatever else you love in granola.
• Stays crunchy. Once completely cooled, this granola keeps its crisp texture for days.

How to Make Chocolate Crunch Granola

You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this chocolate granola.

• Old-Fashioned Oats: Use whole rolled oats, not quick or instant oats. Rolled oats make for the best texture.
• Natural Cocoa Powder: This gives the granola its rich chocolate flavor. Cocoa powder is naturally quite bitter, so the brown sugar and honey help balance its intensity. I tested this recipe with both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder and preferred natural cocoa here; Dutch-process produced a darker, more intense chocolate flavor that tasted too bitter in this particular granola.
• Ground Flaxseed: I love including this nutrient-rich ingredient, but if you don’t have any, you can simply leave it out.
• Salt: To enhance and balance all the flavors.
• Coconut Oil: Coconut oil helps coat the oats and helps to develop that crisp, crunchy texture, just like when we make granola clusters. Don’t worry, the finished granola doesn’t taste like coconut!
• Honey: Honey acts as the liquid sweetener and, importantly, helps bind the oats together. You can substitute pure maple syrup or agave if you prefer.
• Brown Sugar: A small amount adds sweetness and helps the granola develop those crisp, crunchy clusters.
• Vanilla Extract: Rounds out and enhances the chocolate flavor!
• Mini Chocolate Chips: Sprinkle these onto the granola while it’s still warm after baking. The chocolate chips will soften and melt slightly, creating irresistible chocolatey clusters.

The Key to Crunchy Granola

The chocolate mixture is what brings everything together. Whisk together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, honey, and brown sugar in a saucepan on the stove until the oil has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then pour the mixture over the dry ingredients.

Stir until the oats are evenly coated and you don’t see any dry spots.

Spread the mixture onto a lined baking sheet and bake, stirring once halfway through baking. This helps the granola bake evenly and prevents the edges from browning too quickly.

When the granola comes out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the warm oats. The residual heat melts the chocolate slightly, helping it bind the oats into larger clusters as the granola cools.

Don’t worry if the granola doesn’t seem completely crunchy when it first comes out of the oven. It crisps up more as it cools.

Chocolate Granola Variations

This recipe is easy to customize. Try any of these additions (keep your total add-ins to about 3/4 cup):

• Chopped almonds, coconut flakes, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds (add with the oats)
• Dried cranberries, cherries, peanut butter chips, chocolate-covered raisins or other chocolate-covered dried fruit, such as blueberries or cherries. These are my favorite addition because they provide a chewy contrast to the crunchy granola. (Add after the baked granola cools.)
• Add a scoop of creamy peanut butter to the warm chocolate mixture, or a couple Tablespoons of peanut butter powder to the dry ingredients. Or try this recipe for peanut butter granola.

How to Serve & Store Granola

There are so many ways to enjoy homemade granola. Serve it with milk or yogurt and fresh berries, sprinkle it over a smoothie, layer it into a yogurt parfait, or simply grab a handful whenever you want a crunchy chocolate snack.

It also makes a great homemade gift! Package the cooled granola in a jar or airtight container and share it with friends and family.

Let the granola cool completely before storing it. Keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. The granola becomes even crunchier after it has cooled completely, and stays crisp for days.

If you love homemade granola recipes like this chocolate crunch granola, try my vanilla almond granola, pumpkin granola, or maple almond cranberry granola next!

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